With the tenth edition of the Indian Premier League in full swing, the tournament continues to spring a few surprises and offer up new stars to watch out for. Match no 30 of IPL2017 between Rising Pune Supergiants and the Kolkata Knight Riders at the Maharashtra Cricket Association's International Stadium, Pune was a good game; one that showcased a new star and dislodged the Mumbai Indians from their spot at the top of the points table.
Visitors Kolkata won the toss and asked hosts RPS to bowl first. Thanks to Ajinkya Rahane (46 off 41)and Rahul Tripathi (38 off 23) RPS was off to a good start. Skipper Steve Smith remained unbeaten till the end with a dogged 51 off 37 and M S Dhoni made a valuable 23 off 11. KKR were set a target of 183 runs.
Few of us knew much about the Kanpur boy, but he really made an impact with his slow left arm Chinaman style of bowling against RPS. He picked up two valuable wickets; those of M S Dhoni and Manoj Tiwary by luring his victims out of the crease and having them stumped.
Wicket keeper Robin Uthappa was in fine form, working in perfect tandem with Sunil Narine (to claim Rahane) and later with Yadav to stump three batsmen in all.
Robin Uthappa carried over his good form from his wicket keeping into his batting. His masterly innings of 87 off 47 put his team in the driving seat. Skipper Gautam Gambhir's opening knock of 62 off 46 ensured that the visitors took the game away from the hosts. KKR won by 7 wickets with 11 balls to spare in the end.
For his three stumpings and match winning contribution with the bat, Robin Uthappa was the obvious choice for the Player of the Match award. He also won the Maximum sixes award for this 6 massive heaves over the ropes. Manish Pandey won the Perfect Catch Award. Skipper Gambhir snagged the Stylish Player Award and also the Orange Cap (being the first to cross the 300 run mark so far in the IPL).
Mumbai Indians have topped the points table for a while now; yesterday's win by KKR dislodged them from that position. Both teams have 12 points from their respective 8 matches; however KKR have edged ahead with a better net run rate.
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